OMB seeks workforce analysis

Bulletin from OMB

Agencies must submit workforce analysis and restructuring plans to the Office of Management and Budget to help the Bush administration reduce management ranks in agencies and make government more "citizen-centric."

In a May 8 bulletin, OMB said agencies should provide "summary information" on the workforce analyses by June 29. This is the "initial phase of implementing the president's initiative to have agencies restructure their workforces to streamline organizations," according to the bulletin.

The bulletin also gives guidance on agency-specific restructuring plans, which agencies should develop as part of their fiscal 2003 budget submission and annual performance plan, OMB officials said.

The five-year restructuring plan should reflect ways to make the government more citizen-centric, such as reducing the number of layers in government and focusing on front-line service-delivery positions, and should be based on agencies' workforce analyses. Each analysis, at a minimum, should provide detailed information on permanent and temporary workers and what skills they have; identify supervisors and managers based on their grade, title and location; and provide supervisor-to-staff ratios.

The bulletin affects agencies with more than 100 full-time-equivalent employees.

Early on, the administration made clear its goal of reducing the management ranks in an effort to streamline agencies and bring decision-makers closer to the public. OMB said it and the Office of Personnel Management will work closely with agencies. An OPM spokesman said the agency is prepared to "assist agencies in their strategic planning and reshaping of their workforces to help them comply with the Bush administration's vision of 21st century government."